


The Mage, the Stone and the Demon

by Roronoa_93



Category: Original Work
Genre: Demon/Human Relationships, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags Contain Spoilers, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-03-18 09:24:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3564512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roronoa_93/pseuds/Roronoa_93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a mage finds a stone in a dragon lair he thinks he's found a power stone, but the markings that spread across him suggest otherwise. He finds himself in a situation he'd never have expected...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Henbane Stone

**Author's Note:**

> I have this story also published on AFF, but I've found I like this site better so I'll be moving my favourite ones on over.

The quiet hum of a distant storm could be heard above the pounding rain. The wind caused the trees to dance and whisper, the darkness within the forest made darker still by the dense black clouds that hid away the sun. It was in that forest, however, a solitary mage walked. In his hand he held a gnarled wooden staff with a crystal embedded in its core.

The mage was named Rowan Cedar, a legend known throughout the land, though he was not all that powerful. In fact, Rowan was known more for his ability to outwit most creatures of the dark than his actual magical power; which leads to why he would be walking through a forest on a stormy day such as this. Rowan had heard of a dragon that lived within the forest, whose treasure hoard rivalled that of kings. There was a stone rumoured to reside there that was said to heighten magical prowess.

Rowan wanted it.

Though the question really was, how was he going to get past the dragon? He shook the thought from his head; he would figure that part out when he laid eyes on the beast. He followed the forest road until he felt something following him, ducking into the bushes he waited. A group of men on horseback flew passed, through the thundering of the horses gallop Rowan head the men shout of slaying a dragon.

That solved his dragon problem. But then there was the problem of the men. Rowan ran through the trees, hoping that this would be a shortcut to the dragon’s cave. He ignored the foxfire and will-o-wisp that attempted to deter him from his path until finally he heard the thundering hooves of the horses and a shrill cry of a young dragon. Rowan stopped dead at the sound of the cheering men. A young dragon would not have been able to hoard so much treasure, at least not alone. He followed the noises, keeping quiet and in the shadows.

There were three men crowding around the corpse of the dragon they had slain, another two were wandering into the cave; though they did not wander long. A plume of flame erupted from the cave, turning the two that had been there to ashes. The three remaining turned to watch as the mother dragon emerged from the cave. The one they had slain was but a dragon child, though twice the size of their horses it was but a babe. The mother stood tall, almost three times as large as it’s young, and furious. Blue flames danced at the edges of its mouth, its scaled lip pulled back in a snarl revealing razor sharp fangs.

Rowan cowered behind the tree that he’d used as his hide. A pissed off dragon was a dragon he would rather not be near. He inhaled a calming breath and ran for the shelter of another tree as the dragon disintegrated the horsemen in one fell blast of fire. He heard the dragons growl turn into a whine, he looked over to see it nudge at the body of its child.

Rowan pitied it; a dragon was a familial, if hot-tempered, creature by nature. For one to lose a child would be like losing its heart. He steeled himself, readied to cast a spell to end its misery. Before he could utter a word he took a clumsy step, snapping a twig. Through the storm it resonated like a thunder clap. The dragon’s head snapped up to look in his direction, it’s whining turned growl once more.

Rowan swore. He ran into the cave, a pillar of fire following after his every step.

_ Why does this always happen to me? _ He thought to himself as he dodged another breath of fire. He tripped over a golden sceptre and kicked it aside; he jumped up, grabbing a strangely glowing black diamond as he ran. He hid behind a large stalagmite as another pillar of fire was blown into the cavern. Rowan looked down at the stone in his hand, the strange light it gave off and the magical air that seemed to flow from made him believe that this was the stone he looking for.

He was right, but he also could not have been more wrong.

Rowan attempted to imbue the stone with his own magic, chanting the words that were said to activate it. The stone did nothing for a moment, then the light grew brighter, and brighter still. Like a flash bomb the stone flooded the room with white light, blinding him and the dragon. When the light died down the stone was gone, but where the stone had been were symbols and markings resembling tattoos on the back of his left hand, disappearing up his sleeve. _That wasn’t meant to happen…_

The dragon roared, still blinded by the flash of light. Rowan could hear the fire rumbling in its throat, its claws scraping at the ground as it readied itself for the biggest exhalation of fire that it had attacked him with yet. He risked a peek at the other side of the stalagmite, it had almost completely melted. Panicking slightly Rowan ran up the pile of gold, slipping up it more than he actually ran but he managed to get to the top where a chest was lodged. He opened it with a quick spell, finding that inside was another few magic stones, though none of the level that the black one had been. He threw two of them, sapphires, and shouted words he knew would activate their power.

The dragon’s vision had returned in time for it to see the stones hurtle toward it, sparkle, then turn to twin streams of water, putting out its building fire. It choked on the smoke, and rowan was able to cast the spell he’d planned to in the beginning, readying his staff he uttered the words,

“Creature of fire and air, one that has lost your bairn, your heart will beat no more, just like the babe that you adored, fire and air finally free, as I will it, so mote it be”

The dragon fell to the ground choking on smoke, it was dead in moments.

Suddenly drained, Rowan leant on his staff. He collected some of the treasures he thought valuable or useful and began his walk to the city of Hemlock, where he hoped to find some way to remove the markings that the stone had placed on his arm.

*

In the city he managed to sell a lot of what he’d found in the dragons hoard, with it he bought grimoires and spell books in hope that he’d find more information on the black diamond that marked him. He found an Inn called “The Cedar Tree” and decided with a chuckle to stay there for the night. He walked through the front door and was greeted with the warm feeling of a fire in the hearth and the smell of cooking. His stomach rumbled like the thunder overhead, he hadn’t realised he was this hungry. He walked to the reception, pulling down his sodden hood and revealing to the woman behind the desk his handsome features.

He had hazel eyes more green than brown and long hair the colour of honey that he kept tied in a braid. His skin was tanned though naturally pale; it was near perfect but for a scar that spread from his hairline to the corner of his left eye. He had a small amount of stubble, not because he’d not shaven for a while, but because he had the inability to grow a beard though he tried. The result made him look unkempt but his smile made any woman weak at the knees regardless.

“Like a room would’ya?” the woman behind the desk asked, she was rather plump, and though her face seemed to be a permanent scowl there was the evidence of an attempted smile.

“Just for the night” Rowan stayed polite, if he was lucky he could get a discount

“Oooh, you could stay for longer,” the woman purred, or tried to, “I could do with a cute face around ‘ere”

“I could”, Rowan purred back, trying not to gag or laugh, “But a mage like me has places to go”

At the word mage the woman gasped, immediately her tone changed, “Mage? Please, please stay here all you like, no charge” She threw a key at him and bolted.

Now what, he thought, was that about?

“Don’t mind ‘er” shouted a man sat near the fire, “She was once and the wrong end of a mage in ‘er younger years” the man laughed

“What do you mean?” Rowan asked

The man just laughed as his response, Rowan took that as a sign to leave, he found the room that the key belonged to, it was for the largest room in the Inn, also the attic. It was cosy enough, if he ignored the constant howling of the wind and the endless onslaught of rain on the thin windows. He read through his newly acquired books, find nothing he didn’t already know. He almost gave up when he found it, in the grimoire was a small section describing a black diamond named the Henbane stone, used by low level demons to gain the power of higher level demons, though how it did was not included in the description.

‘ _What happened if a human were to use it?’_ Rowan wondered, ‘ _will I gain demonic powers?’_

He looked to his hand, and then he looked closer. He saw how it trailed up his arm, but how far did it go? He practically tore his shirt from his body and trailed a fingertip along the markings, up his left arm, over his shoulder, looking in a mirror he saw it continued down his back before coiling back onto his stomach and down. He tore off his trousers and saw, with some ounce of horror that the markings continued over his groin and wrapped around his right leg, like a snake constricting its prey.

Rowan peeked inside his boxers, squeaking slightly when he saw that the markings had coiled around _that_ too. His shoulders slumped, what woman would find that attractive? Then he paused, what woman wouldn’t? He smiled to himself, still looking at his now marked penis. This, of course, is a most amusing way to find somebody unawares.

It was silent as it crept into his room, watching him trace the marking of Henbane which was forever etched into his skin; it was somehow arousing to it. The demon that watched him almost laughed as he looked down at his penis, many emotions passed across his face before he chuckled at it. It was then that the demon could not hold still anymore, it stepped across the room and wrapped its arms around the unsuspecting mage,

“I was wondering what could have drawn me here, Mage” the demon whispered into Rowan’s ear, “And it turns out to be you”

Rowan strangled a squeal; this demon was powerful enough to hide its presence, though it wasn’t like he was looking for any demonic presence so it might have been a lower level that just got a surprise jump on him, though he doubted it.

“Demon, what are you here for?”

“My name is Gaap,” the demon snapped, “And as to why I’m here? I’m here because I felt a great power pick up my stone”

“ _Your_ stone?”

“Yes, _my_ stone. The stone of Henbane is a stone I created, mage” Gaap laughs, “though I call it more of a prank”

Rowan attempted to break free of Gaap’s grasp but the demon was much more powerful than he appeared. “What do you mean a _prank_?”

Gaap calms himself down, though it’s obvious that he’s trying hard not to laugh, “I created the stone of Henbane to heighten the power of low level demons, do you know how that happens, mage?”

“Not exactly-”

“Of course you don’t, so I’ll tell you” Gaap turns Rowan around in his arms so he can see the look on his face when he learns, “Henbane is a beacon to high-level demons, like myself,” he chuckled, “To _mate_ with the lower level demon who wants to share their power”

The look on Rowan’s face was priceless, Gaap laughed so hard he fell to the floor.

“So I’m…”

“Going to be sore?” Gaap suggested

“I’m not mating with you or anyone!” Rowan shouted

“Well, that’s not really for you to decide, mage, that stone will only get stronger and stronger until it reaches the point where it’ll an aphrodisiac for you and you’ll be begging me then”

“Well it’s not happening”

“Hard to look so demanding stood in your underwear” Gaap crossed his arms and looked Rowan’s lean body up and down. Not bad, all in all, only a couple things he would change

Rowan looked down, finally remembering. Blushing wildly he covers himself with the scratchy blanket from the bed. “It’s not happening!” Rowan declared again

_ Of course not _ , Gaap thought, _but I have time to wait_. He chuckled. He had _plenty_ of time…


	2. Forsythia

It had been a day or so since Gaap had started to follow Rowan, and it was starting to get on his nerves. The markings on his body were starting to tingle, no doubt from being in constant close proximity to the demon that created them. Rowan continued to ignore the demon as best he could.

Rowan was travelling to a small town in the mountains, almost a week’s travel away from Hemlock. The mountain town was called Southernwood, it was the home of many Elder Mages, and was where Rowan grew up. He hoped one of the Elders could help rid him of his… problem.

While Rowan brooded Gaap enjoyed every minute. There he was, following around a moron of a mage, and there wasn’t a thing the mage could do! He couldn’t stop laughing to himself about it; the entire situation was just too much!

It had been over 100 years since Gaap had created the henbane stone, in that time only a handful of people had had the will to use it, though they were all demons who knew the cost and knew who and what he was. Some couldn’t handle the power, others couldn’t handle the mating.

‘If they couldn’t handle it’, Gaap thought, ‘then it wasn’t for them to have or do’. He looked to Rowan then and did some brooding of his own. This mage was too fun to let die… but then there hadn’t been a human ever to activate the diamond, _anything could happen_.

*

There were fields of wide open spaces surrounding the road they walked on, the smell of damp earth and sweet fragrant flowers filled the clear morning air. People passed them, some riding horses, others on carts pulled by horses, Gaap looked to them, then to Rowan,

“Why don’t you have any transportation?”

“Hn? I don’t like horses” Rowan grunted

“Why is that?”

“I find that they’re dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle”

“Aha…” Gaap looked toward the horses again in time for him to see one buck its rider off its back. He said nothing, and tried not to laugh, as Rowan shot him a glance that screamed ‘ _see what I mean?_ ’

“Why are you walking with me anyway? Don’t you have Demon things to do?”

“Well, hell won’t freeze over if I’m gone for a while,” Gaap shrugged, “and then there’s my mark on you, I can’t let just _any_ Demon take you”

“No Demon will take me! I’ll get back to Southernwood and the Elders will fix this” Rowan stomped his foot

“Southernwood’s where we’re going?” Gaap mused, “You finally tell me our mystery destination and it’s a town of grumpy old men with mile long beards?” he laughed

“Grumpy old men that can get rid of my problem” Rowan murmured

“What was that?” the demon grinned

“We need to find some place to stop soon”

“Because that’s _exactly_ what you said”

Rowan walked faster in an attempt to lose Gaap, which failed immensely. In the end they stopped by a clear, sparkling stream. Rowan began to eat a small lunch of bread and cheese, Gaap looked at the food disapprovingly,

“Don’t you have anything else?”

“No. I spent the rest of my money on my magic supplies” Rowan said between mouthfuls, receiving another displeased look from the demon, much to his amusement.

Gaap huffed out a breath and snapped his fingers, before him appeared a small table with two plates piled high with succulent meats, juicy fruit, crunchy vegetables and sweet-smelling sundries. Rowan dropped his bread while his mouth watered, his eyes widened like saucers. Walking to the table, the fallen bread forgotten and stepped on, he grips the edge and merely looks down at it.

“You know everything here is edible?” Gaap taps his shoulder, smirking as he sees the look of awe on the mage’s face.

“How did you make all this appear?”

“I’m an all-powerful demon; I can do anything I want” looking smug Gaap takes a cherry and eats it provocatively

Rowan wiped drool from his lip and began stuffing his face with the mouth-watering food, making noises of appreciation between bites. Rowan had not had food like this for longer than he could remember. He wondered why he didn’t get more food instead of more books, but then stopped when he realised there was no way he wasn’t ever going to not buy too many books. Besides, now he had a Demon that would just make his food, at least until he got rid of the stupid markings that sent tingles across his skin.

Gaap stood there with the cherry still between his teeth. He was stunned at this mage’s lack of etiquette; it was at least one thing they were notorious for, apart from being grumpy Merlin wannabes. The demon let a grin cross his face, this mage was all levels of different to any and all others he’d seen or heard of, even going as far as being unable to grow their signature to-the-floor beards. It wouldn’t have suited him anyway. He was given a miracle in the form of a defective mage; he couldn’t have planned it better himself.

*

Later, when Rowan had eaten his fill, Gaap made the table disappear and they set back off on the road. Rowan talked more this time. He didn’t stop talking for a while.

Gaap was asked tonnes of questions about his powers, how do they work? Will I get demon powers even if I get the markings removed? Are there other ways of getting the power? Is there actually a power stone or was that the prank all along? Blah, blah, BLAH!!

There were many moments that Gaap wanted to make him shut up, but he appeared to be immune to any of those kinds of spells or curses, Gaap grimaced. There was one other option…

“There is a faster way to travel, you know”

“We’re not travelling by horse; I told you why I don’t”

“Not horse, moron mage.”

“Then what would be faster?”

“Teleportation”

Rowan stopped walking. Teleportation was a high-level spell among mages known only by the eldest of elders, for him to know it he was more than just a ‘high-level’ demon.

“And how do you suppose we do that?”

“Like this” Gaap grabbed Rowan’s arm and pulled him into a tangle of limbs, in the next moment they were gone in bright flash of light.

When they landed Rowan keeled over, emptying his stomach on the floor as dizziness and nausea swept over him. Gaap gave him a pat on the back, his touches lingering more than they needed to.

“It’s okay, mage, everyone’s dizzy their first time”

“W-where are we?”

Gaap looked around and shrugged, “No clue, but from the looks of things we can’t be too far”

Rowan looked up and around. They weren’t closer to Southernwood. Rowan wasn’t even sure where _here_ was. He tried to stand, but his feeling of vertigo caused him to stagger and fall. Gaap caught him, lifting him up and carrying him like a princess or bride,

“I can walk, _Demon_ ”

“Not that I could see, _Mage_ ”

Rowan grunted but was too nauseous to argue. If anything he could aim at the demon… on second thought, maybe he shouldn’t…

Gaap carried him until he recognised where he was.

“You’re an idiot, Demon”

“I didn’t think so” Gaap smirked, his head cocked innocently

“Do you know where we are?”

“The outskirts of Southernwood?” Gaap received a withering look from the mage before he wriggled out of his grasp

“You have brought us to Forsythia! We’re on the other side of the bloody country!”

“We can teleport back if you want?”

“NO!” Rowan shouted, “I will travel _my way_ ”

Gaap shrugged, a knowing grin on his devilish face, “Your way will take you _months_ ”

“So?”

“You won’t last a week before the marking’s special effect kicks in”

Rowan scowled and walked away. He could slowly feel the pull of the markings slowly growing stronger, enticing him, and seducing him. At this moment it was like a small hum he could feel at the back of his mind. If this was what it was like after a couple days, what would it be like after a week? After a month he would be writhing, though from what he refused to admit. Surely there was some other way… not that Rowan could think of any at the moment, but there was always something, there had to be.

*

Forsythia was a large industrial town, smog and fumes caused the city to be in a permanent shroud of shadows. Magic was uncommon here and those who did have it in their veins had no clue of its presence. Hearts here were dark, greedy and unlawful; demons thrived on this city’s life blood.

It wasn’t just an accident that Gaap brought them here.

Rowan hid what magical items he had, making himself fit in as much as he could. Hood up he walked briskly through the smog filled streets, Gaap had disappeared somewhere and Rowan couldn’t have cared less.

It was getting darker, what little light reached the city dimmed and the orange glow of lanterns sat eerily in the ever thickening fog. Rowan heard faint noises, something scuttled past him and he jumped. He walked quicker in search of a place to stay, almost blind he ran into the broad chest of an industrial worker. Rowan was not a short man, at 6ft he had always considered himself rather tall, but he had to crane his neck to look at the face of the wall of muscle before him, and all the wall’s friends that stood behind him.

“Want something, pretty boy?” The worker grunted, his putrid breath invaded Rowan’s nose and it was all he had not to cough and splutter

“Not from you, if you’ll excuse me” Rowan attempted to walk passed but was stopped by yet another wall of muscle,

“I’m sure we can all help out” the second worker chided

The markings on Rowan’s skin burned like a warning signal, but too late, the giant workers had him surrounded on all sides. The first spoke again,

“Since you’re new here pretty boy we’ll give you a place to sleep…” he chuckled, “But, for a price” he ran his meaty hand roughly down the mage’s body. Rowan’s body shook with revulsion. He didn’t want to but it looked like he would have to use his magic,

“You leave me no choice, men, but to use force to get you out of my way”

The men laughed, the noise not unlike grating rocks on a chalk board, “Hear that?!? The tiny pretty boy thinks he can move us!”

“Do not doubt me, meat head”

The worker glared at him, “What did you say?” the man seem to loom taller than before, Rowan gulped before he began to mutter a spell. The next moments happened in slow motion.

The men one by one raised their fists and readied to beat him. The first man stopped but a millimetre from Rowan’s nose and spluttered, red droplets of blood erupting from his lips as he fell backwards as though dragged by his hair.

The rest of the men fell almost simultaneously in the same way until Rowan was left in the centre of a circle of corpses. He looked at their quickly paling bodies and back up to the demon standing before him.

Gaap had followed him as always, the smog of the city drowning out his demonic aura. He saw how Rowan would have acted on his own, he watched as the mage darted down streets as if to try and lose him for good. Gaap thought it cute, how the mage thought he could get away so easily. And then there were the workers. He watched it at first, intrigued to know what the mage would do, but as he watched on, watched how the meaty hand of the dirty worker touched _his_ mage.

Like he was going to let that happen.

They were dead before he’d even ended the final arc of his clawed hand.

Gaap stood before his mage, his body visibly trembling. The smell of blood was thick in the air, the demon found the smell intoxicating on an erotic level. He was trying his hardest not to take the mage right now, the marking only sealed his fate if the marked was the one to initiate any act of a sexual nature.

Rowan moved and Gaap shuddered as the mage’s scent invaded his senses. The mage stood but did not take a step, he did not like the way the demon was looking at him. It was the look a starved man would give his next meal; it had the hairs on the back of Rowan’s neck stand on end.

He knew deep down that the last thing he should do was run, some instinct that told him that he would be safer far from here but he shouldn’t run. Without making and sudden moves he slowly stepped backwards, almost stumbling over the cold corpses that surrounded him. He backed away further and further, never taking his eyes off of Gaap. Once he was far enough away he ran, ran like a mad man until his lungs burned and his legs ached.

When he looked up again he was at the edge of a busy main street. He pulled his hood lower over his face and blended into the crowds.


	3. The Marking's Ritual

Rowan had found the only place in the city he could afford; it was a grubby little hostel on the outskirts. His bed was hard and flea-infested, everything on it was threadbare; it was a miracle it was all still in one piece. He sat on it and sighed, someday he’d remember to save some money for times like this. The room was cold, the single paned windows rattled with the smallest motion of wind or the clatter of hooves of the horses on the cobbled roads outside. Gaap had still not caught up to him; he wondered why he even cared. His stomach growled and he remembered, the demon had its uses at least.

He passed the time looking through his books and grimoires; he was always told by the elders that one should study when he could. He huffed out a breath and read the books from the beginning; he learned much but found it all worthless. What information could help him now that these books would contain?

It was then he came upon a part about teleporting demons, and who would have guessed it, Gaap was on the list. Not much other information on the demon was written other than his name and what rank of demon he was in Hell; he was an ‘R’ whatever that meant. He was so enthralled in reading he didn’t notice the incoming demonic auras which were making their way through the city and heading straight for him.

It took the glass of the windows shattering to alert Rowan of danger, but he was too late, the demons were on him in moments. He grabbed his staff and whacked them out of his way. Close-combat fights were far from his strong suit, he attempted to cast a freeze spell but he was too slow. There were three demons coming at him, his back against the wall and his staff had been wrenched from his grasp.

Of the three demons there were two identical demons, shorter than Rowan but wider, and the one that remained was a giant of a demon covered with some sort of slime that reeked. Rowan was trapped, his heart hammering in his chest. He felt in his pocket, the smooth coldness of a stone rubbed against his fingers. He pulled it out and shouted, the demons stepped back and braced, but nothing happened. Rowan looked at the stone; he had said the wrong word but quickly corrected himself. A gust of wind flowed through the room and pushed at the demons, though only the two smaller ones fell. The giant stepped forward slowly, an arm out in front of him altering the winds direction.

Rowan was caught by one slimy hand before he could say another word. He tried to breath but the pungent smell of the slime demon caused him to gag.

“You call to us, human” the slime demon boomed, “Call for our power”

“We like what we see, human” short demon one said

“We like what we feel, human” said short demon two

Rowan struggled but he was caught in the slime demons vice like grip, “What are you talking about?” Rowan shouted

The slime demon rearranged his hold on the mage, ripping his shirt from his body and revealing the markings that now resided there,

“This called to us” The slime demon answered, trailing one oily finger along the markings on his chest.

Rowan could feel the marking now, just like that hum in the back of his mind but stronger. He could feel it move to meet the demons touches, helping it get what it wanted. It caressed him where the demon did not touch, finding sensitive spots he did not know existed, and he fought against it as he felt the smaller demons joining their giant companion in fondling his body.

The mark grew stronger still, causing his body to grow hot with the aphrodisiac that it was spreading through his body. Gaap was right, there was no way he could ignore than burning hot desire that wrenched through his body leaving him mindless. He didn’t even notice when the demons surrounding him had torn his remaining clothes from his body, barely flinched when one slimy finger began to probe his virgin anus.

What he did notice was when the probing and fondling hands were ripped from his body. He slammed on the floor and whimpered from the sudden lack of contact.

Gaap had finally calmed himself down enough that he was sure he wouldn’t jump on Rowan when he saw him. He sensed the mage and walked idly toward him, where was the hurry? It’s not like the mage could get in that much trouble.

He was wrong.

He felt the spike in the marks power as it began to warp Rowans mind and heat his desires, he teleported to the scene to find not one or two but three demons fondling his mage. He tore them off him and taught them what happened when lesser demons tried to take what he’d already taken the only way he knew they’d learn, with one sharp prod through the stomach and their bodies thrown out of the window.

He turned back to Rowan and watched as he writhed on the floor, trying and failing to get the friction he desired on his skin. The mage caught sight of him through his heated gaze, the mark growing ever stronger as his body burned with unspent desire. Rowan moved kneeling on the floor with his knees spread flaunting his hardened penis.

“What is it you want, mage?” Gaap teased, knowing he could not control himself any longer.

The mark still whispered caresses over Rowan’s heated skin, arousing him, intoxicating him further beyond the edge of reason. He pulls himself up, his movements sluggish and wobbly. He stumbles to Gaap and grips the demons shoulders, placing his lips close Gaap’s ear he whispers,

“Fuck me”

He pushes his body against him, lips locating the demons and crushing them with the heat of his unbridled desires. Gaap wasted no time in ripping his own clothes off, his lips crushing the mages as he gripped his body closer. Their groins brushed, causing both men to moan into their kiss. Gaap let his hands trail over the mage’s body, expertly tweaking his darkened nipples to sensitive nubs. He broke their battle of lips only to suck on the mages neck, nipping the sensitive skin between his teeth.

Rowan’s hands were wandering over the demon’s flesh, barely touching him and still leaving their trails ignited. He copied the demons touches on his own body, testing his caresses gingerly yet with a sense of desperation so intense it left him trembling and panting. With his mouth free his moans of passion were able to escape his kiss-swelled lips. He felt the demons fingers brush past his puckered entrance, the very entrance the slime demon had prepared earlier. Gaap’s finger’s slid in with ease, scissoring the mage until his moans escalated into pants and mewls of intense pleasure. The demon’s fingers brushed passed that sweet ball of nerves and Rowan arched back screaming. He was almost at that golden edge. He bucked his hips and whined as Gaap’s fingers slid out, he was picked up and those fingers were replaced by something thicker.

Gaap thrust his penis in inch by glorious inch until the mage had him to the hilt. Their pace quickened, the sound of flesh slapping flesh barely audible over Rowan and Gaap’s ecstatic moaning. Their lips met again, Gaap’s tongue venturing into the hot cavern of Rowan’s mouth, lapping at the mage’s tongue. Gaap hit that spot inside him once again and sent Rowan over the edge and into ecstasy, white hot cum shot over their stomachs as Gaap felt the tight muscles of Rowan’s ass grip him tighter, the demon came hot and fast inside that quivering grip.

They collapsed on the bed a panting tangle of bodies. The bed groaned beneath their joined weight and Gaap was sure it would have broken if it were any older. The demon laughed, it all seemed so surreal. He’d lasted only one round with a mage, _a mortal man_ , and that mortal man had survived unlike all those demons that had tried to use Gaap’s powers before him.

The willing taking of his body meant that he had sealed his fate; he would share in Gaap’s power, and he would be connected to him for as long as he lived.


	4. Power

Rowan woke groggily, his throat sore, his body heavy and spent. Step by step he began to become aware of his surroundings, the hard bed beneath him, the scratchy blanket covering him, the warm body spooning against his nude form. He shifted his body before he noticed what was wrong with that information. He tried to leap out of bed, but failed. With his limbs still languid from the night’s activities he instead rolled off the bed, yelping as his naked body hit the bare wooden floor with a thud.

Gaap woke with a start, his garnet eyes flying open and his body catapulting forward automatically on the defensive before his tired eyes spotted Rowan on the floor, the mage whispering profanities as he tried to pull a splinter from his rear that had stabbed into him on impact with the floor. The demon laughed, pausing only to look at the poor mage. Rowan pouted, wincing as he pulled the sliver of old wood free.

“W-what did you do to me, demon? Why are you in my bed?” Rowan growled, his throat too sore to yell

“It’s not so much what  _I_  did to you, it’s what  _you asked_  me to do to you” Gaap chuckled, “and as I remember it, it was all  _very_ mutual”

“Well I can’t remember a damn thing!” the mage retorted, though that wasn’t entirely true. He could remember the other demons, being over-powered, the warm buzz or lust and then the feeling of ecstasy so great he saw stars. But he hadn’t been in his right mind. He attempted to stand, but was unable to find the strength. He looked up at Gaap to see the demon offer a hand.

“I don’t need your help, demon” Rowan muttered

“”I wasn’t saying you did, I’m just offering” Gaap grinned, a childish grin that made him seem so much more human.

Rowan huffed out a breath, after looking at the offered hand for a good minute or so the mage took it. Gaap pulled him up onto his feet like he was as light as a feather. The demon stood in front of him, the closeness of it made Rowan uncomfortable. He took a step back and turned on his heel, grabbing his torn pants from the floor, giving Gaap a lovely view of his firm rear.

Rowan muttered something and his pants repaired themselves. He began getting dressed, charming his clothes back together as he picked up each piece.

“Get dressed demon, we begin travelling to Southernwood today.”

Gaap grabbed his clothes, though noticed that the mage now automatically assumed he’d continue travelling with him after he’d finished branding the mark with his power. He was right of course but that was beside the point. The demon dressed slowly, not wanting to start what would be a month long journey. But then again, he forgot that Rowan not only received an extra boost of power, the mage now had all of his demonic powers.

As the mage pulled on his boots he thought of the last time he had gone home. 5 years had passed since then, and the elder mages probably hadn’t noticed he’d gone anywhere. He thought of his home, more of a shack than a house, with all the rose bushes and herb gardens his mother had planted before he’d been born dotted around outside it. The image was clear in his mind as he felt power he didn’t know he had flow through him, one second he was sat on the hard bed in the hostel, just finished tying his boots, the next he was falling to the ground in front of his shack. He squeaked as he landed in one of his mother’s rose bushes, the thorns digging into him.

Back in Forsythia Gaap gaped at the place where Rowan had been. He tried to sense the mage’s presence, realising that it was well out of his peripheral reach. He didn’t know how he’d managed it; the power it took to teleport from here to Southernwood was great, greater than the demon assumed the clumsy mage had even with the mark’s power boost.

This mage was truly exceptional.

Gaap teleported to the outskirts of Southernwood, Rowan’s staff and belongings in hand. He scanned the area for the mage; he was close, really close. Gaap turned around to see a small weathered cottage in the distance, his mage was there. Walking closer he could see that the cottage’s roof needed re-hatching and the gardens were full of weeds and overgrown rosebushes. Even closer and he could see one of the rosebushes was shifting. He stopped in front of the rosebush in question and was met with a sight that had him laughing so hard he fell, dropping everything he’d been holding.

Rowan had not only landed in the rosebush but after panicking about the sudden change in environment he had got himself tangled in the bush’s stems, the thorns digging into his skin.

“What’s so funny?” Rowan whimpered as he tried to get himself out again

Gaap took deep calming breaths, but he was unable to stop laughing looking at the poor mage. He looked away, “You look a mess, mage” Gaap shook his head as he remembered he’d just being starting to think this man was anything but the clumsy mage he was.

“Well are you going to just stand there laughing or give me a hand?”

Gaap helped, but was unable to stop chuckling as he did so. He untangled the vine-like stems from the mage with one hand as he helped him up with the other. Gaap was right, Rowan looked a state, the thorns had torn his clothes as well as punctured his skin, rose petals had fallen into his honey blonde hair and the braid had come loose. There was a scratch on the mage’s cheek, blood beading at the surface as Gaap watched. The demon wiped away the blood with his thumb; he chuckled again when Rowan flinched at the touch, smacking his hand away,

“What are you doing, demon”

“Please, call me Gaap, mage; the whole ‘demon’ thing is getting old” he licked the blood from his thumb, “and I was just giving you a hand”

Rowan touched his cheek, the scratch was gone. He contemplated making the demon heal all of the cuts that he got from the rosebush, but then he remembered where some of them were and decided against it.

“Keep your hands to yourself _Gaap_ ” He heard the demon snigger as he turned to his little home. 5 years empty had turned it into a desolate place. Rowan placed a hand on the door and muttered a few words, brightness and colour flooded back into its walls. He took a deep breath as he stepped through the door, smelling that the house was musty from disuse.

Nothing had changed at all.

“Bring my things in with you, thanks for picking them up for me!” Rowan called back to Gaap.

The mage was treating  _him_  like a lowly mage’s familiar or something. The mage had wandered off inside the little cottage before the demon could retort, Gaap looked at Rowans things then back inside the house. He dragged them inside and left them by the door. The demon wandered through the dusty house, for this place did not have the warm feeling of a home. Great masterpieces lined the walls of mages in battle with demons, of maidens and dragons and of valiant heroes. He found Rowan lighting a large hearth with magic in what looked to be an unused sitting room, the once comfy chairs and sofas sat moth-eaten and warped. There were paintings lining the walls here too, and above the hearth was a painting that had a pang if pain shooting through the demons chest. It was a portrait of an old mage with a short beard and kind eyes and a woman, heavily pregnant, with honey blonde hair and hazel eyes. It didn’t take a genius to know who they were. In the painting they looked happy, there was an air of love put into every stroke of paint.

Rowan caught Gaap staring at it; he recognised the pained look on the demons face and got angry.

“What are you looking at Demon?” He glared

“It’s a beautiful painting, what happened?”

“What makes you think something happened?” Rowan scoffed

Gaap said nothing and waited, the look in his eyes was something Rowan was not expecting from a demon. It was enough to have the mage answer his question,

“My parents, I heard they were in love but not for very long after that was painted. My father… died… but that was before I was born about a month after that was painted. My mother wasn’t very liked by the mages here and after my father was out of the picture the mages here openly scorned her.”

“It must have been rough”

Rowan laughed, it was empty and humourless, “She tried her best to teach me magic. She was a witch you see so it was a different kind of magic to all the other mages. When I was five she…” he stopped, his eyes blurring with unfallen tears. He turned from Gaap as he whispered the ending, “She killed herself”

Gaap put a hand to Rowan’s shoulder, “you couldn’t have done –”

“What do you know Demon? And besides, it was a lifetime ago.” He shrugged Gaap’s hand off his shoulder and stormed off, his angry footsteps echoing through the empty halls.

“I understand more than you know” Gaap whispered after Rowan had left.

Rowan stayed in his room like a moping child on a tantrum. What was it about the demon that had him so irritated? What was it about him that made him want to tear himself apart and tell Gaap everything, every minor detail of his life, even the parts he’d always tried to hide. And what was it about the demon that was chewing at the back of his mind? Rowan pulled old tomes of his fathers and grandfathers from the shelves and got reading, maybe he’d find what was eating him about the demon.

Gaap couldn’t stay within the confining walls of the musty old cottage so he went for a walk to clear his head. He was what his mother had always called a ‘Special Demon’ and not just because he could teleport with such ease. Gaap was a demon who could control emotion, particularly the emotions of love and hate. Throughout his centuries of life he had started wars and ended them on a whim of boredom just by messing with the right people. But this power came with a price, because he could control these emotions he could feel them just as any human would, with the same amount of human error if he was not careful. Not careful is what he was being now.

Rowan had found what was bugging him about Gaap, he’d read it before but he’d not thought of it. He remembered what ‘R’ meant anyway. Rowan should have felt shocked, what he found would have made most angry or scared. All Rowan felt was some surprise as he read the profile that had been in the tome.

_‘Gaap Leviathan,_

_Demon of Love and Hate,_

_Prince of Hell and the Next Heir to the Throne of Lucifer.’_

Not what he was expecting.


	5. Elder Mage

Gaap found himself staring into the clear water of a lake not far from Rowan’s home, his reflection staring back at him as he brooded. How that mage irritated him, confused him, how he enticed his curiosity. He had recognised the mage in the painting, Rowan’s father, but the memory was from long before his time, an ancestor of his perhaps? Gaap wasn’t sure. What he was sure of was that he needed to focus, if not he feared he might become deeper involved in something he could feel to be dangerous. There was something about this place that felt unhinged, something not quite right. The demon shook his head. He was thinking too much, he needed to cool his head and he knew just the way to do it. He stripped off; deciding a swim in the lake would cool his mind.

Back at the house Rowan continued to read all he could about Gaap. Now more than ever he needed to get rid of the mark which bound him to the demon. He needed to see the elders. He grabbed several tomes and grimoires and began to run in the direction of the town. Many of the other mages that lived there avoided him; others looked on with mild distaste and the rest, the rest pretended he wasn’t there. By the time Rowan reached the elder hall he had slowed to a jog and had begun to make himself look presentable. Inside the hall was dimly lit, the once bright murals on the ceiling long since faded to a dull mirage of faded colours and smudges. There was a ratty old hag sweeping the never-ending dust from the floor. She didn’t even acknowledge Rowan as he walked past her, his footsteps echoing in the hollow hall.

There were three elder mages, but only one that Rowan needed to speak to, and the only one that would speak to him. The elder’s name was Gregor Tome; he had been an old friend of Rowan’s great grandfather and practically a grandfather to him even when his mother was still alive, though he had a habit of calling Rowan by his father’s name, Sycamore. The elder was a strange man; he collected puppets and dolls only to charm them to dance for his entertainment. It would have been a jolly thing if Rowan did not find the puppets to be creepy. Gregor was in his study reading through an old grimoire, his creepy puppets dancing in front of him. When Rowan entered the puppets stopped and looked at him, the elder stopped reading and looked up over his half-moon spectacles; he chuckled at the disturbed look on the younger mages face.

“You still don’t like my puppets Sycamore?”

“They border on the edge of demonic, Gregor, and it’s Rowan” the mage rearranged the books that had begun falling from his grasp

The elder looked at the books then back at Rowan, “You look so much like your father, Rowan, what brings you to see an old bat like me?”

“I have a problem I was hoping you could help me with.” He placed the grimoires on the edge of the elder’s desk, “It’s a really big problem”

“Well lad, what are you waiting for? What is the problem?”

“I… May have made a contract with a demon”

The elder mage stared at Rowan, rowan stared back.

“Has the demon marked you?” the elder queried

“I had the mark before he completed the ritual, it was a stupid error on my part. I found something I assumed to be a power stone, at the time I was being chased by a dragon so I activated it straight away-”

“But it wasn’t a power stone was it?”

“No. I ended up summoning a demon, but that’s not even the whole part of it” Rowan rolled his sleeve up to show Gregor the markings there, before he could speak the elder near shrieked

“These markings are complete, Rowan, this ritual is completed and due to the complexity of these markings it was not just any demon you called. Who was it? Tell me!”

“G-Gaap” Rowan stuttered, he felt like a child being scolded for doing something he shouldn’t have.

“ _The_ Gaap?! _The prince of hell_? Are you _serious_?!” This time the elder did shriek

“I need you to get rid of it!”

“If this mark is complete any attempt I make to remove it _will bring the demon here_!”

“Just _try,_ please I beg of you!”

His pleads worked, though the elder was still unsure of what to do. He could end up dead for all he knew if the demon caught him trying to remove his mark. For the life in him he could not find it in himself to say no to the boy in front of him. And so the elder tried. Using charms and spells the elder tried everything in his power to loosen the marks hold on Rowan.

The mark did not loosen.

So the elder tried a different approach,

“What kind of mark is this?”

“… The stone _was_ a power stone _of sorts_ …”

“Meaning?” The elder looked annoyed

“In return for the mark I get a power boost and if I’m right I also get some of Gaap’s powers…”

“You could have mentioned that at the start, Rowan”

“Why? Would it have made a difference?”

“I’ve been using the wrong spells!” The elder mage went off in search of something. It was a while before he came back.

“Here, eat this”

The elder passed Rowan a bean of some kind; it didn’t look like anything that Rowan had ever seen.

“What-”

“Eat it and you’ll see what happens”

Rowan looked at the bean and shrugged, what’s the worst thing that could happen? He swallowed it whole, cringing slightly at the awful aftertaste. He felt no different, but after a minute there was a burning pain in his stomach. He collapsed and pulled himself into a tight ball, clutching at his stomach as the pain pulsated through him.

Gaap felt that pain too. He had felt someone messing with his mark and had gotten himself dried and dressed. He’d been sensing for where Rowan was when the pain hit him, like a wall that crushed his soul and knocked the breath from his lungs.

Someone wasn’t just attempting to the remove the mark. They were trying to retain the power that had been transferred while removing their bond.

Like hell Gaap was going to let that happen.

He focussed, ignoring the immense pain that enveloped him and concentrated on finding Rowan. He found him, using his anger he managed to teleport to him. He saw Rowan had blacked out from the pain, the elder mage standing over him, his crooked hands rubbing together in anticipation. The mark was receding back into the back of Rowan’s hand, the Henbane stone it came from was slowly protruding through the skin.

Gaap was beyond angry, he was so furious he saw red. His bones cracked as his anger fuelled him, he let go of his control and released his full demonic power.

Gregor didn’t see him until a clawed hand was already tearing out his throat.

*

When Rowan finally came to he wasn’t in Gregor’s study, In fact he didn’t think he was in southernwood anymore. He sat up slowly with his hand to his pounding head, he took in his surroundings. The room he was in was dark; a single candle flickered in the corner casting shadows around him. He felt a heat next to him, looking down he saw Gaap asleep. The demon’s skin looked darker in the candle light, his face so serene in sleep; Rowan could have almost said that he was attractive. Almost.

“Is there something on my face, mage?” The demon opened one eye and grinned at Rowan, the mage turned, a light blush adorning his shadowed face.

“What happened?” the last thing Rowan remembered was immense pain.

“Your elder buddy got what was coming to him and your mark is still in place, although with only half the power, if you want it back you’ll have to reseal the deal” Gaap winked, Rowan shivered, somehow the idea didn’t seem to bother him as much as he thought it should.

Then what Gaap said truly sank in, “What do you mean he got what was coming to him?”

“Let’s just say no one has to worry about him anymore”

“You killed him?” Despair bubbled within Rowan; he’d lost the last of what he could call family.

“What he was doing was causing unnecessary pain to both of us, I wasn’t about to let him steal away from me what I have already claimed!”

“So you killed the last man on earth that I called family?” Rowan thrashed out at Gaap, struggling to get up as the demon tried to contain him.

“He was not what you thought he was! That old coot didn’t care for you; he only wanted my power from you!”

“ _And then_ _I would have been rid of you!_ ” Rowan shrieked, kicking out his legs, unable to release himself from Gaap’s grasp

“To remove the Henbane stone from you the way he did would have spelled death for the both of us”

“One less demon in the world to worry about” Rowan had stopped his struggles, unable to word what he felt. The demon had both saved his life and damned him to be alone in the human realm.

Gaap pressed his forehead to Rowan’s shoulder, “Do you care so little for yourself, mage?”

“All I wanted when I set out for that stone was to have power enough to be recognised by my peers, and now I have lost the soul person in that place that treated me like the human being I am. Tell me, demon, why should I care?”

Gaap sighed, this mage held so many heartaches, hard to believe that this was the same mage he had begun to think of as clumsy and easy-going. “You have power within you that those ignorant mages could never dream of possessing, and that was well before you enticed the power of the Henbane stone within you,” he traced the stone that still protruded from the back of Rowan’s hand, “You are the first since the stone’s creation to withhold both the power of the ritual and the power that it brought. You are truly an exceptional mage, no, a remarkable being”

Rowan was quiet as he listened. The demon was so sincere in his words that the mage could not find that he could think that these words were lies. But he could not bring himself to say what he wanted,

“Do not think you can get on my good side, demon”

Gaap released his hold and Rowan stood. The mage found the door and left, wandering through the darkened halls until he got outside. There was a silver light falling from the moon, stars like candles lit the frozen night. They were further up in the mountains, if Rowan strained his eyes he could see Southernwood way in the distance like a will-o-wisp enticing him to go there, enticing him to lose his way.

He found himself in a small glade, flowers decorating the ground like the stars above. He slumped against the trunk of a willow tree, hidden by its draping vines he wept, for he had lost so much and he had held onto his strength for much too long.


	6. The Cedar Family History

Morning came; the dawning sun filtering through the willow’s draping vines. Rowan had slept there; his body had become stiff from the awkward position and the cold. His sleep had been deep and dreamless, Rowan wasn’t sure if he should have been thankful for that or not. He heard footsteps coming toward him before he felt the demonic aura that came with them. Rowan couldn’t even be bothered to get annoyed. He remained sat on the mildew dampened ground, leaning against the rough bark on the tree’s trunk as Gaap stood over him. Rowan noticed the look of pity that flashed across the demons face.

Gaap had wanted to follow after him when he’d walked off in the night, but knew deep down that Rowan had needed to be alone, but seeing him now, Gaap wasn’t sure if he’d made the right decision.

“What do you want, demon, I have no need for your pity”

“Pity is not a word in my mental dictionary.”

Rowan scoffed, “Then why come to me with those puppy dog eyes so full of disappointment”

“This is not disappointment towards you, mage, I dislike seeing you like this” Gaap crouched next to him, tucking a stray honey blonde hair behind the mage’s ear, tracing the faint scar along his temple as he did so.

Rowan smacked his hand away, “Why would the son of Lucifer care about a lowly mortal at all?”

Gaap froze for a second, “So you know about that, then” the demon stood back up, “Well you should also know that I’m the demon that reigns over control of love and hate”

“What of it?” Rowan spat, avoiding the demons fervent gaze

“I can feel them as much as I can control them. Rowan…” The mage flinched at the sound of his name said so softly, “You were bonded to me that night in Forsythia, you and I are as stuck together as that mark is to your skin,” he chuckled as he thought of how the stone now protruded from the mage’s skin, “You may not like it now but I am all, it seems, that you have left”

Gaap was right in a sense; Rowan didn’t like the thought of being bound to a demon. But on the other hand it was so easy to forget that it was a demon tied to him by a red string of fate. There was time yet for him to get used to this fact, and time was all he had to waste.

“You’re right demon, I don’t like it.” Rowan made to get up but realised that his aching body lacked the strength to, embarrassed he looked to Gaap. “Y-you wouldn’t mind giving me a hand here now would you?”

Gaap chuckled lightly before he offered his hand. Rowan took it, immediately feeling his body lifted like it weighed nothing. His stiff legs did not take to the sudden change and the mage fell into Gaap’s arms. He tried to jump back only to find the demon held him in his grasp.

 “Maybe someday you will” Gaap smiled before he leaned in and kissed his temple, before Rowan could even acknowledge that light brush of lips over the sensitive skin of his scar the demon was walking away, a purposeful sway in his slim hips.

Now that, Rowan thought, was a sight a guy could get used to. He shook the thought from his head, there were many things he needed to do, any thought like that would get in the way. But sometimes a distraction was a welcome thing. He shook the thought from his head; he still had enough wit about him that he remembered that any relationship with a demon would cause trouble to ensue.

Any thought he had would pale in comparison to what would truly happen.

*

Time passed and Gaap became restless, he was running out of time before other demons realised he had not returned to Hell in what was becoming to most interesting yet infuriating month of his extended life. Rowan had begun to accept him in closer proximity, a touch here, a caress there, but nothing more.

Gaap was highly tempted to give the stubborn mage a little push. He knew the look the mage shot his way when Rowan thought he wasn’t looking. It was gleaming with lust and shrouded in desire. It would not take much for Gaap to get the mage under him, squirming, writhing, and begging him for more all the while pleading for him to end his heated suffering.

And so Gaap cursed himself for trying to get the mage to come to him without any nudge.

He watched that mage now. They’d returned to Rowan’s home to pick up some things before heading out on the road again, the mage took all that he could carry for he promised himself he would not return here again, after all, there was nothing tying him here anymore.

Rowan rifled through a large chest, one he normally threw loose papers in. He found old pictures, hand written parchments with potion recipes his mother had invented, small things he never really thought a mage could use but kept because something urged him to. As he rooted through, half-reading pages before throwing them to the side, it wasn’t what he was after. There were many letters in the chest, sealed envelopes with nothing but the word ‘Son’ written on them in scrawl Rowan had learned to be his father’s. He opened one to read it.

Gaap watched a whole range of emotions fly across the mage’s face, sadness, confusion, fear. The demon stepped closer and began to read it over Rowan’s shoulder.

*

_ My Son, _

_ I write these letters now because I feel my time is soon to come to an end. I must, as my father told me before, tell you of our family’s troubles. _

_ There is a curse that lies in the blood of the Cedar family. The fault lies in our ancestor, Merlin. The story is long but you must know of it all before the curse grips onto you as well. _

_ The true story is much different from what is written in the scriptures of Southernwood. It all started centuries ago, Merlin was a young man with a lover and soon to be mother of his child. That woman’s name was Morgana, a witch and the love of his life. Not even we know for sure what happened, but one day Merlin and Morgana began to fight, love turned sour and bred contempt. In one of these many fights Morgana sealed Merlin into a Cedar tree, leaving nature to take its course. It wasn’t many years later that Merlin’s tree was cut down, his soul still trapped inside as it was dragged away and used as firewood. _

_ The fire his soul was burned in was in the furnace of a blacksmith. The fire burned him from one prison to another; the sword that was forged in his flame was none other than Excalibur. It was a sword meant for the king but it did not pass into his hands. Merlin was able to use what little power he could in his soul form and created a binding spell, only the chosen may take up the sword, and from there the people chose their king. Arthur Pendragon was that king; however he also wielded a peculiar power. The moment his hand graced the hilt Merlin was freed from his torment and vowed his service to the new king. _

_ In the years that followed Merlin made a new family, as he lived on he had children, grandchildren even great-grandchildren, all given the names of trees as a joking reminder of his past. _

_ At the peak of Arthur’s reign everything turned sour. Morgana learned of Merlin’s release from her prison, her rage grew so strong the entire kingdom was put under darkness; darkness that only deepened when the king lay on his deathbed, Merlin at his side and his own family surrounding him. _

_ Morgana won her battle that day; as the last breath left the king’s lips so too did Merlin leave this plain forever. His freedom only lasted as long as Arthur lived. _

_ When his sons had sons of their own they too were sealed into the sword, for they were of the body of the soul which the sword was born. _

_ The pull of the sealing gets stronger as Merlin’s blood thins. The reason for this I cannot explain, I only guess that somehow the power of the combined souls makes up for whatever lack of power we possess. _

_ My son, you were born of a mage and a witch, the likes of which have not been seen since the child of Merlin and Morgana. I can only hope this gives you freedom where so many others before us have failed. _

_ Your father, Sycamore Cedar _

*

Tears fell down both their faces, Rowan because he now knew not only was he tied forever to a demon, but he was also doomed to be sealed into a sword should he ever have a son. Gaap felt his tears fall and bit his lip. Centuries before he had been a child, only just growing into his power, a power that could turn love into hate, a power that caused a witch to hate a mage, to curse his family. And all the while, if he had not done all that, the mage sitting before him would not have existed.

Gaap embraced him, a gentle hold that stopped the mage shaking. Rowan relaxed into his arms, his back resting soundly against Gaap’s firm chest,

“Things just keep getting better and better” Rowan muttered sarcastically

“There’s always a way out” Gaap whispered, eyes widening as he realised what he could do

“How?”

Gaap turned the mage around in his arms, wiping his tears away with his thumb as he looked him in the eyes,

“Come with me to Hell”


	7. Unwanted Houseguest

Rowan blinked up at the demon that held him, unsure of what to say, unsure of what to do.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“Come with me to Hell, Rowan”

The mage just stared at him. Hell? Was he serious? For a mage such as he to step foot in Hell was to goad death, and he’d already tangoed with the cloaked skeleton more than any sane man should in one lifetime.

“Staring is not giving me an answer, silly mage,” Gaap chuckled, “Though I do think you should know your time to answer is limited”

“Why limited? Why would you ask me at all!?”

Gaap’s shocking red eyes stared deep into Rowan’s hazel ones, “We are connected, you and I,” He trailed a finger up the markings on Rowan’s arm, “To leave you alone would cause the stone to call for me again, and any other demon that can feel it”

“But why is the time limited-?” A crash from outside stopped him from saying any more, a wave of demonic aura reverberating through the air. Gaap growled at the familiar presence. This was not who he was expecting to show up.

“Wh-what is it?” Rowan stuttered, the pressure of the demonic aura weighing down on even him.

“An annoyance,” Gaap stood over him, “Stay here, I’ll deal with this”

Gaap hurriedly made his way outside, not looking back to see Rowan peek out of the window and catching the eye of the intruder.

*

The demon intruder was tall; his features deceptively beautiful hiding his love for treachery and lies. Pale green eyes stared Gaap down as he stormed out to him. A soft chuckle belied the new demons intentions.

“You’re not who I was expecting, Belial” Gaap spat his name; he went to stand in front of him to stare him down, a hard thing to do when he had to look up to do so.

“Everyone else was busy,” Belial shrugged, “and I just couldn’t pass up the chance to see my little brother” the quick glance to the window was not lost on Gaap,

“Why are you really here Bastard” Gaap smirked at the dark look that crossed his older brother’s face.

“Do not think I won’t maim you just because your father’s favourite, Tap, I was sent to retrieve you and your little _pet_.”

“Since when did the General of Lucifer’s army get knocked down to messenger boy?” Gaap mocked

“Do not try my patience you insolent swine” Belial eyes flashed red, “Astaroth misses her son I dare not go back to tell her that he’s been made into plant fodder.”

Gaap glared at him, “I’m not sorry to tell you, my bastard brother, that your time is wasted coming here”

“I think not,” Belial smirked, “Your _pet_ isn’t half bad, and all that dormant power…” Belial disappeared from in front of him in a flash of fire, a bright light coming from the room where he’d left Rowan.

*

Rowan watched as Gaap left the room, spying out of the window he saw the intruder, the demon looked more like an angel with blond hair and such delicately chiselled features but Rowan did not let himself think that for long, he caught the demon’s eye and felt repulsed, those irises flashed from green to red and the smirk that marred his features gave him a window to see the true nature of the dastardly demon. This was a true demon, dark and powerful and filled with apathy for the human race.

Rowan watched as Gaap all but attacked the other demon, there was venom in his voice and stance. He could hear every word of their conversation, and was shocked to hear this demon, the total opposite of Gaap, was related to him by blood. He could tell that the two had more than just a sibling rivalry going on though with how they spoke, if it could be called as much.

Then the demon disappeared in a flash of fire, only to reappear behind him. Before Rowan could figure out what had happened in his head he’d been grabbed, an arm snaked around his waist and he was pulled against the demon’s body. The demon’s other hand gripped his chin to stop his from moving it. He shook with revulsion as Belial took a deep breath of his scent,

“You’re too good for that pathetic little brother of mine, all this power, all this potential…” A dark chuckle came forth from Belial, his chest vibrating from it.

There was a crash behind them and the door was blown from its hinges. Belial’s hold on rowan tightened, the hand holding his face grasped his throat instead as he was whipped around to face a ferocious Gaap mid-way through his demonic transformation. There were horns curling back from his skull, bat-like wings protruding from his back, the whites of his eyes were slowly turning black as he was transforming into his true self.

Belial cackled, “Does this mere mortal mean so much to you that you’re unable to control yourself around him?”

Gaap was unable to answer, his concentration solely focusing on trying futilely to halt his transformation. Eyes wide, Rowan could only stare. Through their connection of the mark Rowan could feel Gaap’s power rise with every second that passed, and with every second it was not the only thing that rose. There was a deep and terrible fear growing within Rowan that the hand around his throat would tighten and end him right then and there and there was nothing he or Gaap could do to stop it.

But just as Rowan was sure that it would happen the hands holding him loosened. He felt his body twisted by the demon and something warm press against his mouth.

*

Gaap stared at the window where he’d seen the light, and only grew more shocked when he realised he was unable to teleport to it. He ran to the house, not taking notice that his transformation had already begun.

He flung himself into the room to find Belial with his hands all over _his_ Rowan. That only made his transformation jolt, allowing him to gain control of his body once again halting his transformation halfway. Fighting to pull back his power he failed to hear a word his brother said, and did not notice that the demon’s grip was loosening from him.

Belial twisted Rowan about in his grasp, smirking at Gaap as he did so. Without missing a beat Belial touched his lips to Rowans, stealing a rough kiss from him before he disappeared in another flash of fire. Free to move himself again Rowan tried to get rid of the feel of the unwanted touches. Taking his sleeve he tried wipe the taste of Belial from his tongue.

He shivered as he felt eyes on him. Turning slowly he noticed Gaap was breathing heavily, the rise and fall of his chest visible from the opposite side of the room. The effect this had on him was somewhere between unnerved and cautious.

Gaap was furious, how dare that bastard brother of his touch what is not his. Rowan was his and his alone. With his body mid transformation he was much more in touch with his demonic side, and therefore less inclined to pay any attention to the emotions he could sense coming from Rowan.

His automatic decision was to get rid of Belial’s touch, and he knew just how to do it.

Gaap moved so quickly Rowan was not able to see him until his lips were already being crushed under Gaap’s. The touch did not repulse him as much as Belial’s had done not five minutes earlier, in fact it caused his flesh to burn and a feeling deep inside him to spread to places he was not aware existed until now. It confused him, but he could not push the demon away any more than he could ignore what the demon did to him. Gaap’s sharpened teeth scraped against the sensitive skin of Rowan’s bottom lip, the mage gasped letting the demon take the kiss deeper, lips sliding against each other as tongues sought entry.

Gaap’s hands trailed across the mages body searching, exploring. The places he found made the mage squirm he lingered, the areas he found that made him gasp he ghosted over, teasing, playing, coercing sweet mewls from his mages panting lips. As Rowan’s body heated the mark that covered him began to move. Barely noticeable at first but gaining in audacity, Rowan was soon a body of over sensitive nerves and gasping at every touch, gentle or not.

Gaap left the mages lips, nipping his way down the mages neck, cradling his head at its nape and letting his mouth attack the flesh there, sucking and biting at it as he immersed in the sounds that the mage was letting loose. Rowan did not know what it was he felt, to his body all this felt familiar somehow, when Gaap touched him his body returned the favour, his hands roaming awkwardly at first, trying to avoid Gaap’s demon form horns and wings only to find he liked the feel of those deviously soft wings, as Gaap liked them being touched. Their bodies pressed together pining for heat and friction. Both seemed to have lost any thought other than release.

Clothes lay torn on the floor as they gripped at each other in a mad embrace, lips finding one another again in heated dance of tongues and teeth. Gaap’s hands finally ventured lower, grasping Rowan’s hips and pulling him toward him so their lengths brushed against one another. They both arched back, moaning at the soft touch.

They wanted more.

They _needed_ more

With minds shrouded in lust and desire they pushed against each other for dominance, their power almost equal. Rowan was pushed to the ground, the cold of the stone floor unnoticed by his languid body. Gaap spread the mage’s legs with his knees as he crouched over him, licking his fingers until they glistened with his saliva, his hand brushing up the mage’s thigh, bypassing the one place the mage sought contact and heading straight for his puckered hole. His slickened fingered circled it before slowly pressing in.

Rowan’s body remembered how it felt last time though his mind did not; he relaxed as Gaap slowly and teasingly began to stretch him. Soon one finger became two, the fingers scissoring inside him pressing against him deep inside, every now and again he’d hit a spot that made Rowan see stars.

“P-please, Gaap, I-I can’t last much longer…”

Gaap merely chuckled; pulling out his fingers he guided himself until he was flush against him, their lips met again in a languid kiss. Gaap pushed passed that tight ring of muscle, it took all he had not to just bury himself to the hilt in one thrust. The demon’s length brushed that sweet spot and Rowan couldn’t help but arch his back, pushing himself down onto Gaap until their flesh slapped together. They both moaned but stayed still, not wanting the feeling to end.

Gaap’s demonic wings curled around them as he began to move, pulling back only to thrust back in hard and fast. Rowan dragged his nails down the demon’s back and wrapped his legs around Gaap’s waist, pushing back on every thrust not even noticing the mark on his body was pleasuring him just as much as Gaap was. It coiled around him, stroked him, and made him delirious with wanton need. He could feel Gaap’s fingers digging into his hips, gripping him tight as they guided every thrust.

It was like nothing he’d felt before. Rowan’s hands roamed over Gaap’s transformed body, stroking his wings, brushing over his horns and down his back to his rear. Something flicked at his hand, breaking away from their lock of lips Rowan grabbed at it, Gaap moaned brokenly as the mage tugged at the mystery appendage. Tugging at it again he realised in this form Gaap had a tail…

Smirking lustfully Gaap looked down at the mage, he was flushed, his eyes glazed with lust for him and him alone, just the thought made him twinge as he thrust once more into the mage. His versatile tail coiling between them, taking hold of Rowan’s leaking erection. That was the last the mage could take, he came, back arching, moaning Gaap’s name. The demon swallowed that moan, thrusting faster into the mage as he reached his limit. His body convulsed with the power of his orgasm, his hot load releasing inside his mage once again marking him as his.

They lay on the floor, a panting tangle of bodies. Their nerves twitched as they came down from their lustful high. 


	8. Love and Loss

Still on a lustful high Gaap and Rowan lay entwined. Taking no notice of the cold hard floor, they took pleasure in each other’s company. Gaap did not think, did not want to think, of the repercussions of his older half-brother seeing him in such a state. Did he regret feeling as he did? No. What he felt should not be regretted, rather it should be celebrated. What he regretted was allowing Belial to get under his skin. And for that he would pay dearly.  
Still in his demon form Gaap had curled his wings around them, Rowan has settled close to him, his hazel eyes half lidded and staring at the back of his hand where the protruding stone had returned to its previous mark. It seemed to dance along his skin with each breath. He could feel it caress him softly, as though replying to this strange feeling that welled up from inside. Rowan felt something he had never felt.it fluttered in his stomach, it made his heart both light and heavy all at once. It was a warm feeling. Looking at the leathery wings surrounding him he felt the heat grow. Something rose and it wasn’t necessarily a feeling inside.  
He did not speak. Instead the mage rolled over to face the brooding garnet eyes of his demon. His demon, he thought. He wondered why, when those eyes met his, that those words would have seemed so foreign to him not too long ago. How times changed. Had this feeling not always been here? He pondered, had he not felt a strange tugging for this demon since he first laid eyes upon him? He inched his face closer to Gaap’s, their eyes locked. Their lips brushed softly, once, twice. Then Rowan plunged. Pushing his body against his demon Rowan deepened the kiss. He coiled his arms around Gaap’s neck and changed the angle. There was a moan, soft, pining. Rowan realised it came from him. Gaap grabbed his waist with a vice like grip and held him there as he changed their positions.  
Rowan broke free from their lip lock as he realised he was now straddling Gaap. Gaap’s demon form was fading back to the face he knew too well. Sharp eyes, a straight nose, and a sensual mouth that seemed to be permanently smirking cheekily.  
“Are you going to keep staring, or finish what you started?” there it was again, that smirk, that lopsided grin that Rowan didn’t notice made his stomach twist with need, until now.  
“I always finish what I started, my demon” He didn’t see the look in gaap’s eyes as he took those lips with his again. Eye’s that held the warm mellow of a man in love.

~

A cackle turned into a howl of laughter. Belial held his stomach as he collapsed against his castle wall. Gaap, his father’s favourite, had fallen so low. He loved that stinking mage! A demon in love with a mortal was already a travesty according to Belial, the race was garbage and deserved to be stepped on. But that mage… something felt different. Belial sobered up.  
He wasn’t the one asked to go and retrieve his younger brother, in fact Gaap still had about half a week left before Old Man Lucifer sent a few of the usual lot after him.  
There was fun to be had and not much time to do it in. He had some pawns he could send up, test the waters a little bit. No point in sending someone stronger until he knew how well that mage could tap into his dormant powers – but he needed a way to split them up. What could cause his love-struck brother to separate from his mage?... Suddenly an idea struck. A dark look marred his previously deceptive angelic features. 

He knew just the thing that would work.  
And just the demons to do it…  
~

Flesh slapped against flesh as hips moved desperately. Rowan arched back, Gaap’s hands kneading his arse as he desperately rode Gaap’s glistening shaft. The mage yelped as his centre of gravity was changed, Gaap took over and picked him up, only to drop him so his butt laid flush with the demon’s groin. Rowan gripped his demon’s shoulders as gap took over. Gaap rammed into his prostate over and over until the mage was seeing stars.  
Gaap felt Rowan’s fingers dig into his flesh as white tendrils shot out of the mage’s engorged shaft. Gaap flipped them over so he was on top and continued to pound into him. Rowan moaned hotly, Gaap swallowed it in a kiss so deep that rowan had to gasp for air when he leaned back.  
Gaap’s mouth found Rowan’s throat, nipping and sucking at it as he vowed to taste every part of his lover. He made his way down to his chest and took a nipple into his mouth. Biting it. twirling it around with his tongue. The mage arched into it. Whined when Gaap stopped. Begged as Gaap began to slowly pull out.  
Nearly yelped in delight as Gaap closed his lips around his shaft.  
He’d vowed to taste every part of him and he did. He felt Rowan’s fingers curl into his hair, felt them try and hold him in place and hips bucked in search of friction. Delirious with need Gaap let Rowan’s shaft go with a pop, nipping his way back up to his mage’s mouth, covering his lips as he slammed back into him.  
Before long both were completely spent and completely sated.  
At some point in their love making they’d changed rooms, and made it to a bed. Still not fully able to make a sound other than a pleasure filled moan they both lay panting under sheets neither had been aware they were under.  
Gathering himself after a moment or two Gaap broke the almost silence,  
“Can you speak yet?”  
Rowan’s answer was a low moan  
“That good?”  
The mage nodded, curling his arm over Gaap in a tired hug. The mage’s pale skin seemed to shine against his demon’s ashy dark skin. Like yin and yang. Gaap kiss Rowan’s forehead. It made the mage blush lightly despite the lovemaking they’d just undertaken. It seemed more intimate somehow.

It was nearly an hour before either really moved, a little longer before they’d managed to get bathed and dressed. Anything they would have done after this though was put to a stop. They heard crashes from outside, after a quick peek out the window that resulted in a fireball being shot into Gaap’s general direction they saw it was a group of demons and other familiars.  
Beyond them were mages from the town with strange looks in their wrinkled old faces. They looked dishevelled more than angry, and the lack of emotion Gaap felt from them had him worried. Not just anyone could overpower the mind of a high-level mage.  
Belial  
Damn, He thought. What’s the bastard up to now?  
“Wait here,” He ordered Rowan, “I’ll handle this”  
“Screw that Gaap, I’m fighting them too – even for you there’s got to be too many out there” and with that the mage barged past him and into the fray. Gaap wasn’t sure whether to be proud or annoyed.  
The moment they stepped foot outside they were shot at and rushed. There were 4 mages, 7 demons, and at least 16 familiars of varying sizes and types. Rowan shot down a wyrm familiar with little less than a wave of his hand. By the look in his eyes Gaap knew this was a surprise for even him. He hadn’t, after all, used his magic for something like fighting since completing the ritual. The rest of the familiars were taken down in a similar fashion – Rowan gained confidence with every strike. Gaap Clawed his way through the demons, though they put up a little bit of a fight. Out of the corner of his eye Gaap watched as Rowan ran off in chase of the last few familiars – they were fast but Rowan was catching up. Unable to follow him Gaap turned his attention to swatting these bugs in front of him. Teleporting in and out of range of these lower level demons was a cinch, the hard part was the mages. Not just any mages – at least one of these beard buffoons was titled an elder mage. Gaap teleported out of reach of a lesser demon only to be hit with a spell from the brainwashed elder mage. He spun and fell to the ground. The remaining demons and Mages began their attacks as the wind was knocked out of him.

~

Rowan ran after the familiars. He shot a spell or two and missed as they swerved and dodged. He was taking no notice of his surroundings, he was too focused on his task. Help Gaap. Defeat creatures. It hadn’t occurred to him that he should have let them leave and to stay with Gaap to deal with the harder to take down demons and mages. He was on a victory high, he was strong enough now to dispose of things like these familiars with a wave of his staff and a wordless spell. Something he’d never managed before. He aimed again at shot a arachnid type familiar, it made a screech as it was cast in flames.  
Rowan cheered, he couldn’t help it.  
And the cheery mage had ran far enough away from Gaap for there to be a delay in his senses before Gaap realised anything was less than okay. Perfect. In a swirl of flames another demon appeared. It was not Belial, this demon was shorter than Rowan, with white hair and red eyes the colour of blood. The demon had no discernible gender – and Rowan hadn’t the time to ponder which it could be. Readying his staff Rowan continued with the attack pattern he’d grown fond of. A wordless spell and a fireball shot from his staff, a fireball that didn’t even singe the clothes the demon was wearing.  
The demon looked at where he’d been hit and looked back at the mage.  
“In what world would that have worked on me? On any demon?” The voice was genderless, but flowed like velvet.  
“It was working so far” Rowan muttered, his winning high sullied as he remembered the familiars were all low rank and weak. He readied his staff again and half shouted, “Augue” a larger fireball flew from his staff – though the demon didn’t dodge. it didn’t have to. It lifted one dainty hand and caught it.  
“That’s better,” the demon cheered sarcastically, “Try again but with more oomf, y’know?” the demon threw the fireball into the trees, knocking more than one over and setting fire to something else.  
Rowan gathered his energies, focused, and tried a stronger mages spell, “Magna Augue!” it started out small at the end of his staff, grew in size until it was the size of him, and then shot faster than the others straight at the pale demon.  
The demon looked panicked for a second.  
Then it grinned.  
Before Rowan could blink the demon was gone from his line of sight. He turned quickly to see the demon behind him with a great childish grin on its face. The giant fireball exploded on contact with a rock behind him. It went unnoticed.  
“There’s much power in you that’s left mostly unused” The demon grinned, “Bel was right, you ARE different! You’re coming with me now! I’ve wanted a new toy for AGES, I broke my last one so quickly I feared Bel wouldn’t let me claim a new one!”  
The demon teleported closer and grabbed his arm. In the next moment, they were gone.  
~

Gaap felt it. As Rowan was teleported away he felt it. And it tore something inside of him to realise he’d been too late. He dropped the last head of the fallen mages onto its still twitching body. If he was right he knew who’d taken him.

He only hoped that Belial had come for him himself and not sent his courtesan Philatanus.  
He dreaded to think what that pale little demon would do to him before he got there.

In a blink Gaap was gone, a look of anger and determination etched onto his face.


End file.
